Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 1 August 1946, page 26


FOOTBALLERS ON MONDAY A CURIOUS photographer wondered where league

footballers, the heroes of Saturday, go on Mon-day. Sensing a new angle of interest to appease the appetites of football enthusiasts he took an unusual line last week and visited several of our football stars at work. In his wanderings he found Ross Hutchinson, West Perth's captain-coach, busy teaching his class in a State primary school, "Big Mac" McIntosh of Perth meddling with a carburetter, in his garage at Cannington, George Prince, East Fremantle's follower, in the wheelhouse of the family-owned vessel, Wandoo, at Fremantle, Fred Williams, Subiaco's captain, reading a meter and so on. Falling in step with the idea NEWBURY, our football writer, has added a few interesting personal details concerning the players.

MOTOR MECHANIC

Not many youths of to are up to league standard but that is the age ( in 1939) at which M. McIntosh, of the Victoria Park "Mets," first turned out with the Perth league side. "Big Mac" they call him and not without reason because McIntosh at the age of 23 is 6ft. 5½in. in height, weighs 14.12 and is the biggest man in the W.A. league, like hundreds of others McIntosh's football career was interrupted by the war and he joined the Army in 1941. He played here with the success-ful Column side in 1943 and was a member of the Army State team which played "Victoria." Last year he played with "Spitfires" an Air Force team captained by Norman Doig, which finished the season premiers of Darwin. Later in the sea-son Mac captained a Spitfire squadron team which played at Morotai and Labuan. Together with his father he now conducts a garage at Canning-ton. We understand there is no truth in the rumour that he employs a boy specially to pick

up the spanners.

TRUCK DRIVER

Les McClements, Claremont's powerful follower, who, will probably be one of the first men picked for the State side to play South Australia next month, is a truck driver for a Claremont hardware firm. The Caporn brothers and Jim Reid are on the same payroll. McClements is a born foot-baller. With Claremont junior teams he won the C. G. Norton and P. Rodriguez fairest and best medals. He was only 18 when he first played with Claremont in 1941. This year he has played telling football in the ruck and is generally men-tioned as being among the best two or three play-ers every Saturday. While absent from the State in the Army he played with the 9th Divvy team and was also a member of an Army 18 which de-feated a strong R.A.A.F. side in Adelaide. McClements, who is unmarried, is 23. He is 6ft.

tall and weighs 13.5.

JOINER'S ASSISTANT

Although Swan Districts are not do-ing so well this year there are many promising young players in its league and colts teams who should play a prominent part in improving the club's fortunes in the next year or so. Among these is William Ralph ("Croup") Latham, who seems destined for an outstanding

football career if he fulfils his early promise. Aged 21, 6ft 1½in. in height and weighing 13.6, he is a

well-proportioned young footballer.

Bill Latham, who is a joiner's assist ant at Guildford, was a member of the State schoolboys' team which visited Hobart (runner-up),in 1939. He played for West Perth in the 1942 restricted age competition and had a few games with Swans in 1943. Last year he played with

Melbourne in the Victorian League and also with a Victorian R.A.A.F.

team.

Bernie Naylor, South's brilliant centre forward, was 19 when he had his first game with the South Fremantle league team in 1941. In booting 65 goals in his first year he made an immediate im-pression and plainly indicated that with

experience he would become one of the

best forwards in the State. That is nearly five years ago and in the mean-time Naylor has played a lot of foot-ball, but mostly with Army teams. In 1943 and 1944 he

played with a 13th

Brigade side in Dar-win and last year with an army team in New Britain. Naylor, who is more than fulfilling the promise he showed in his first league year, is 6ft. 2in. in height and weighs about 13.0. His occu-pation is that of a clerk in the office of the large Fremantle wholesale grocery firm where Vic French of East Fremantle is also

employed.

CLERK

Master and port-owner of Wandoo, a small ocean-going vessel, which was built to the order of the Navy and completed after the war, George Prince, East Fremantle's follower and half-forward, is seen here at the wheel. His partners are his father and his brother. Jack. Rain or shine George steers Wandoo to Rottnest every week. The vessel is also used in harbour work. Prince is 28, is 5ft. 11in. in height and tips the scale at 13 stone. He is married and has one daughter. Janice, aged 2. He commenced playing with East

Fremantle in 1939.

"Local boy makes good" is on adage which applies in the fullest sense to Fred Williams, Subiaco's captain and brilliant utility player. No member of the side has done more than Williams to elevate Subiaco to third place on the league premiership table and his popularity and ability might take Subiaco far on the rood to success. Fred Williams came up to Subiaco in 1938 from the West Subiaco "Mets." He left Subiaco in 1939 and trained with Geelong but a clearance was refused and the following year he returned to the Maroons; Fred Williams will be remembered as an outstanding player with Triangles the well-known Army team. Later he was captain-coach in the Islands of an Army team which included Naylor and other prominent league players. With Subiaco, Williams has played in almost every posi-tion with distinction. In 1941 he was the full-back. He does not mind where he plays. He is solidly built, is 5ft 9in. in height and weighs 12.5. Williams is 26 years of age and is employed in the Water Supply Dept.

in the capacity of a meter reader.

In addition to being one of the cleverest rovers in the game Vic. French is also one of the best all-round sportsmen playing foot-ball. His energy seems inexhaustible and this plays a big part in East Fremantle's drive on the ball. Almost as active at work as he is tireless at play, French is a storeman with a Fremantle firm of grocery merchants, where he has earned the sobriquet of "The Frog" among his workmates because, as one of them put it, "he never stops hopping about." Just 24 years of age French is nuggety and strong. Although only 5ft. 5in. tall he weighs 11.7. He came to East Fremantle in 1940 from the district ex-scholars

team with whom he won the L. J. Brown fairest and best medal

in 1938. He was a member of the 1936 State schoolboys' side. French was married last September. He returned from his honey-moon in time to play with East Fremantle in the second semi-final

last year and was one of the best on the ground.

In the long history of the West Perth Football Club it is doubtful if any player hes been held in higher regard than Ross Hutchinson, the present captain-coach. Ross Hutchinson has a way with the players that gets results and, what is more, he enjoys the confidence of every member of his team. À former captain of East Fremantle Ross came from the South-West to enter league football andNnade his mark right from the outset. He was a member of the State team which convinc-ingly defeated South Australia in 1938 and he was captain of the State side which played Victoria at Subiaco the following year. For some time he was coach of the State schools. In 1940 he transferred to West Perth but his clearance from East Fremantle was refused. Although a clearance was still not forthcoming in 1941 Hutchinson remained with West Perth and coached the team to a premiership.

This is the first year he has turned out with West Perth in club games and now an injury to his ribs has forced him tem-porarily out of the game. During the war he was a pilot in the R.A.A.F. and won the D.F.C. Ross Hutchinson, who is a teacher at the Claremont central school, is married to a daughter of Archie Strang, formerly of East Fremantle. There is a young Ross who already kicks a football about with more than average

aptitude. Star of 1960?